Maria Ambach

"Pictures and sculptures out of the own head"

01.02.2001 - 31.03.2001

"No matter what I start to make, it always ends up being a head", confesses Maria Ambach from Lauda. Heads, faces and eyes are the dominant themes of her work, which has a serious intent. Her works are compelling and yet for the most part sorrowful, powerful but not devoid of hope. With more than sixty public exhibitions Maria Ambach, once a pupil of Richard Rother and Wolfgang Lenz at the Art and Craft School in Würzburg, has been of the most active members of the Kunstkreis Lauda-Königshofen (Art Circle). What is impressive about the works created by Maria Ambach is not only her forcefulness in presenting the theme, but also her superb mastery of the most varied techniques. Oil paintings, watercolours, red chalk drawings, wax crayons and mixed techniques all form part of her repertoire. A considerable number of her paintings and drawings are devoted to people, and what she has achieved in this area, is extremely impressive and definitely worth seeing. "I dive right in, if something grabs me", says Maria Ambach. She wants to express what she feels, and so a great number of pictures have a very serious background. "Often something quite different comes out, than what I actually wanted and time and again a head suddenly appears." Ambach's miniature sculptures should reach out and touch you. Her preferred materials are alabaster and soapstone. The works come to life in stone, in its grain, form and colour. First the artist gradually develops the design and expression of the final piece by handling the selected raw material; in this every individual stone is a special challenge for the artist because of its natural composition. Countless hours are needed before the artist is finally happy with her work. Only a short time ago Maria Ambach was being awarded outstanding marks and prizes in national and international competitions by participating in different classes. Her soapstone sculptures "innige Bande" and "Theresas Zeit" won prizes in Landshut and Paris. Maria Ambach does not allow herself to be classified into one particular style. She paints, when she feels driven to do so and mainly begins without a clear objective in mind and often presents a theme using different techniques. Every piece of work is an individual creation influenced by themes and moods; detailed, realistic drawings hang next to large-scale, abstract creations, oil paintings in bright colours next to delightful, mysterious composite works.

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